Women's Basketball to Visit No. 20 Lebanon Valley on Saturday in Conference Final

Widener's women's basketball team, fresh off its third upset of Messiah in the Commonwealth Conference semifinals, will travel to 20th-ranked Lebanon Valley for the conference final on Saturday.

Tip-off in Annville, PA is at 2:00 pm with the winner getting an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for seniors, $2 for students and free for those under age six.

Widener (18-8) punched its ticket with Wednesday's 60-58 triumph at Messiah, which entered fifth according to the NCAA Mid-Atlantic regional rankings. The Pride pulled it out in dramatic fashion with sophomore Jennifer Egee (Ridley Park, PA), who had not gone to the line prior to this point in the contest, hitting two free throws with one second remaining.

Egee closed with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting and junior Lil Carney (Narberth, PA) added 14 to give Widener its seventh victory in its last eight contests.

The Pride also upended the Falcons in the 2004 and 2009 semifinals, also in Grantham. In both years, Widener went on to win the final.

Junior guard Kate Dellinger (Wrightsville, PA) is having another strong season and was named second team Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-America, becoming the 45th All-America in Widener's athletics history. Dellinger this season is third in the league with 13.9 points per game, first with 3.0 steals per contest, sixth with 7.4 rebounds per game, 15th with 2.1 assists per contest, 13th with a .727 free throw percentage and ninth with a .301 three-point percentage.

Junior center Vanessa Hejnas (Delran, NJ) also has played solidly and has been a valuable player for the squad in the post. She is ninth in the conference with 10.3 points per game, ninth with 6.4 rebounds per contest, third with a .524 shooting percentage and tied for sixth with 16 blocked shots.

Carney, a first team all-league pick the last two years and the 2010 conference Rookie of the Year also has been a go-to player at guard for the Pride. She is second in the league with 4.0 assists per game, first with a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio, 19th with 9.3 points per contest, 10th with a .741 free throw percentage and tied for fifth with 2.2 steals per game.

Widener is 2-0 in the Commonwealth Conference final and this marks the second meeting between these schools in this round. The first was a classic nail-biter as the Pride recorded a 75-72 double-overtime triumph to clinch the school's third berth in the NCAA Tournament.

A win Saturday also would tie the school record for most victories in a season. The 1981-82 squad went 19-7 en route to the NCAA Tournament and last season's team closed 19-7.

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